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page one

Considering it’s still quite warm during the day, I thought it was best to get this post out while the information could still be useful enough for people to enjoy this café to the fullest.☺

page one is a renovated machiya café and dining bar produced by the well-renowned ice shop, 森田氷室本店Morita Himuro Honten, which has been in business for over 100 years in 祇園Gion; here, shaved ice is served year round with flavors according to the four seasons.

When Maki first mentioned wanting to go to page one this past summer, I had already seen it in a magazine on Kyoto cafes and was curious about the place as well…the hot and humid summer for which Kyoto is well-known just makes me (and everyone) crave shaved ice. When Maki and I met over two weeks ago before she left for Europe to attend a friend’s wedding, we trekked up to page one after lunch at Citron Blé (briefly checking out MALEBRANCHE’s new chocolate shop, also in Gion, on the way). When we arrived, there was quite a line of people craving shaved ice but we had expected as much; at least there would still be shaved ice left by our turn (Maki had called the month before when we’d been together to see if they ever ran out and they assured us that there’s always plenty of ice, no matter how long one waits), so we joined the line.

We had PLENTY of time to talk and take pictures but the day was hot and exhausting…I couldn’t wait to get in and actually feel cold.

When we were first led in (it was marvelously cool inside), the only open seats were two two-seaters at the front by the round window; we chose the one closest to the door.

the counter seating…one also pays here on his way out.

the first floor dining area…I never got to see the second floor because it appeared not to be in use during the day.

We noticed the sofa seats back by the garden were going to open within a matter of minutes, so Maki asked the waitress if we could move there when it opened up to which the waitress agreed (we ended up sitting next to the pair of girls who had been waiting in the line right before us).

looking back at the front

We had plenty of time to decide what we would order and we both ended up ordering the 生搾りいちごかき氷nama-shibori ichigo kakigohri (strawberry shaved ice topped with freshly squeezed strawberry), ￥950.

It wasn’t long before my shaved ice came.

exquisite: the bowl was made of ice!

We were both so impressed with the presentation: the vivid red color, the freshly squeezed strawberry on top as well as the slices of strawberry decorating the sides and most of all, the bowl made of ice which made the shaved ice seem to last longer than most that I’ve experienced. I chose not to add the condensed milk that accompanied the shaved ice (for a change of flavor) because it was delicious just the way it was. It was definitely worth waiting in line; just might be up for doing it again.☺